Jace tosses him a grateful look.
“In the meantime, we have less than two weeks to come up with a solution. I want everyone focused on this.” Jace’s gaze shifts to Sorscha, sitting silently at his side. He clears his throat.
“The princess and I have discussed it at length, and we intend to move forward with our wedding by week’s end.”
“The Bloodfast will certainly play to our favor once completed,” the High Priest encourages. “I’ll have the preparations made.”
Jace nods, and I swallow tightly.
Good. This is a good thing, I remind myself.
“Conwell, you’ve written to the other kingdoms?”
“Yes, Sire.”
“Any responses?”
“Only from Hyrax, your Grace. Berringer will send twenty thousand men. They set sail in two days’ time. The other kingdoms may prove more reluctant to provide aid.”
“I could see Aeix remaining neutral,” Gronwen mutters.
“I’m sure they’ll be singing a different tune when Vod starts banging on their doors,” I point out.
“Max, what is the latest on Vod’s numbers?”
“My sources at the border reported seeing golden fleets on the Praxian Sea sailing east.”
“How many?”
“Five—”
“Five is manageable,” Gronwen interrupts.
“Hundred,” Max finishes. “Five hundred.”
Jace closes his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. “That’s at least 100,000 men.”
I’m no mathematician, but from the looks on everyone’s faces, I can tell Aegar’s armies don’t come close to totaling that.
A grim silence settles over the room.
“If we can’t gather more men, then I’m going with Kylian. And I’ll find a way to stop him before he can cause too much damage.” My eyes skip over everyone at the table. Zadyn still refuses to meet my gaze, his mouth proppedagainst his fist.
Jace hangs his head.
Knowing there is nothing more to be said, I rise and walk out the door.
66
ZADYN
12 DAYS
Istorm back to my room after the council meeting, only to find that Serena has beaten me there. My muscles lock, freezing me in place.
Great.
This is the last thing I want to deal with right now. I can barely look at her after last night. I debate walking right back out the door and avoiding her for as long as possible, but I can’t outrun her forever.
